Gas prices down, could fall below $2 gallon

FRANKLIN COUNTY >> Drivers have become so accustomed to paying $3 or more for a gallon of gas over the years that the thought of the price falling below $2 a gallon "seems really strange" to some people.

But that is exactly what AAA is predicting for Pennsylvania drivers later this fall.

Gas prices are already down below $2.50 a gallon in Franklin County, as well as nationwide, but probably will drop lower as before winter, perhaps as early next month.

The current national average standing is now $2.334 and the county's lowest price per gallon at $2.379.

But some drivers interviewed at a local station on Monday say they have already seen prices at or below $2 a gallon in other states.

Chris Pascucci of Scranton, who stopped to fill up on her way home from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said she paid $1.78 a gallon to fill up there, and found gas for $2.09 a gallon when she stopped to fill up on I-81 on her way back to Pennsylvania.

Joy Holloway of Fayetteville thinks $2 a gallon gas would be "wonderful," but she said it will also seem strange after so many years of seeing gasoline prices creep higher and higher.

Both women said they were looking forward to some relief in gas prices, however.

AAA's daily fuel gauge report predicts that prices will continue to drop as we head into the fall, barring any unexpected disruptions in supply or spikes in the price of crude oil.

It's typical for pump prices to decline once school starts and the busy summer driving season is over, according to AAA.

A changeover to cheaper-to-produce winter blends of gasoline also affects the pump price beginning in mid-September, so local drivers might be in for a pleasant surprise when they fill up over the next few weeks.

Pump prices are about a dollar a gallon cheaper this month than they were last year at this time, thanks to an oversupplied market.

While local drivers are looking at prices that range from a low of $2.399 to a high of $2.699 this week, in some states — as Pascucci found on her trip home to Pennsylvania Monday — gas prices are already under $2 a gallon, but that is the exception across the nation rather than the rule, according to AAA.

Locally, pump prices average about $2.479 at most stations, although that varies a few cents depending on the location of the stations.

The highest area price per gallon Monday was at an Exxon station on King Street in Shippensburg at $2.699 a gallon.

In Waynesboro, drivers could get gas for $2.379 a gallon at a Gulf station on Anthony Highway, the lowest price found locally using a Gas Buddy mobile app.

For those who think prices of almost $2.50 a gallon are still too steep, try Alaska, California, or Nevada, where drivers are still paying more than $3 a gallon to fill up their gas tanks.